A healthy bedroom can improve your overall health

(KGW) -We spend roughly one-third of our lives in the bedroom, so it's no surprise that when things aren't "healthy" there, our whole lives can be affected, but there are ways to make your bedroom a more relaxing place.

Dr. Kenneth Weizer with Portland, Oregon's Providence Integrative Medicine said we should all take a look at our bedrooms with a fresh set of eyes.

Weizer says to ask yourself "What do you want to do there?"

"Do you want to be stressed there," he said, "or do you want it to be your sanctuary?"

Weizer said your bedroom should be treated like a sanctuary, a place where your mind and body is able to recover.

All too often, it's not.

General clutter, dirt and even technology can add unwanted stress in the bedroom.

"If they just take everything out of the room and make it really simple," Dr. Weizer said, "All of a sudden, they can breathe better."

Take those TVs, computers, digital alarm clocks and cell phones out of the bedroom and plug them in somewhere else.

He also suggests washing your sheets and pillows at least once a week in hot water because dust mites love to call your bedroom home.

"They live on dust, which is mostly our skin that sloughs off all the time," said Dr. Weizer.

Stress in the bedroom can affect your sleep and possibly even your sex life.

"Sex is related to stress and sleep - if you don't get enough sleep, you may lose your libido and if you have too much stress, you might lose your libido."

By keeping your romance alive, Dr. Weizer said that can help you sleep and sleep reduces stress - making you much healthier in the long run.

He adds, that in order to get a good night of sleep, you need to be in a very dark room.

Your body will only release melatonin when it's dark. Melatonin is essentially the hormone in your body that heals you at night and puts you in a dream state, allowing you to get a good night's rest.